Webinar - Investigating social cognition in dementia syndromes

This 60-minute webinar was presented by Prof Olivier Piguet. Synopsis of session: Dementias are progressive neurodegenerative brain disorders that manifest clinically in many different forms, depending on the type, location, and severity of the underlying pathology. With the aging of the population, it is becoming urgent to ensure an early and accurate diagnosis. Clinical diagnostic criteria have been proposed in recent years, but these do not generally include social cognition despite the fact that social cognition processes are supported by many of the brain structures that undergo pathological changes in dementia. This webinar will provide an overview of social cognition (i.e., emotion processing, understanding of social norms, empathy, and theory of mind) and review the recent literature pertaining to dementia. It will also highlight how investigations of these features will improve early and accurate diagnosis and inform therapeutic interventions that can have a positive effect, not only on the individual diagnosed with the disease but also on their family members. Level aimed for: Basic to Intermediate Learning objectives: By the end of the webinar, attendees will: (i) have an understanding of the main aspects of social cognition, (ii) be able to identify the profiles of social cognition deficits in the main dementia syndromes, and (iii) understand their neural bases.